715 East 5th Street | Block : 375 | Lot #62

Building Date : 1890
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Joseph & Frank Shaeffer ; Ferdinand Seighardt
Original Architect : Franklin Baylies

Description & Building Alterations

Though its cornice has been removed this building, constructed in 1890, retains much of its original ornament including terracotta belt courses, keystones and arch work.

It was one of four buildings erected (715-721 East 5^th Street) to house 20 families at a cost of $20,000 by Joseph and Frank Schaeffer and Ferdinand Sieghardt, designed by architect Franklin Baylies. The original new building permit indicates that the first floor was faced in brownstone. In 1908 owner Samuel Birn installed stores in the basement, removing the brick walls.

Block : 375 / Lot : 062 / Building Date : 1890 / Original Owner : Joseph & Frank Shaeffer; Ferdinand Seighardt / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Franklin Baylies

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What is the Building Blocks Project

What does a building mean to someone who lives there? A person who lives on the block? In the neighborhood? In the city? This site presents a wealth of historic information gained from GVSHP’s architectural research survey about the buildings located in the East Village.

The site explores the area generally considered today as the East Village: from a northern border of 14th Street to a southern border of Houston Street, Avenue D in the east to 4th Avenue/the Bowery to the west. You can explore the information about the blocks and buildings featured here in two ways.

Pick a block. Maybe it’s yours, or perhaps it is just your favorite place to shop, grab a bite, or just people watch. Then explore the buildings that make up that block. Or take one of the many guided tours on the site, curated by a collection of organizations and experts from the neighborhood. See how they experience the neighborhood. Then tell us what the neighborhood means to you. The site’s comments section allows you to open a dialogue with others who feel just as passionately as you do about the East Village.